Politicians, priorities and public interest: Scottish party conference season

At the Law Society of Scotland we take our public interest role very seriously. We see ourselves and the legal profession as key players in civic Scotland and believe we have an important part to play in ensuring the most important issues facing our country are subject to open, intelligent and honest debate.

Part of my role at the Society involves coordinating a regular programme of engagement with MPs and MSPs from across the political divide. As a professional body which seeks to influence the creation of a fairer and more just society, we seek to ensure political decision-makers understand the impact of the decisions they take, intended or otherwise.

One of the ways we do this is by providing a platform for debate at the political party conferences, beyond the main conference programme – which can sometimes feel somewhat choreographed. By bringing together policy makers with ordinary party members, members of the media and experts from our own profession, we can help test ideas before they become policies.

This year’s events take place just weeks before a Scottish Parliament election which has been described as the most important since devolution. The next Parliament will have greater powers over revenue raising and welfare than at any time in its history. With greater power comes greater responsibility of course, so this year’s conference season gives us, as a strictly impartial organisation, a great opportunity to make sure issues of importance to our members and wider Scottish society are given the scrutiny they deserve.

We have published a set of priorities we hope the parties will consider incorporating into their manifestos. The five key policy areas are:

• Access to justice
• Modern legislation for a modern profession
• The legal profession at the heart of a thriving economy
• Access to education
• Law reform and quality of legislation

It is the role of the profession at the heart of the economy which we will be exploring at this year’s events. We have called for clarity over how the new revenue-raising powers will be used, so we have invited a range of experts from the parties and beyond to discuss what opportunities and threats these new powers bring – what policies could we see come forward in the next Parliament, and what are the opportunities and threats for taxpayers, businesses and public services?

Our speakers will include current and former MSPs, candidates for the election, party policy makers and authors of independent policy reports, such as Sir Iain McMillan, the head of the Independent Commission for Competitive & Fair Taxation and those behind Reform Scotland’s paper on the basic income guarantee.

I’m also delighted that this year our committees will be represented at our fringe events. The Society’s committees bring together an extraordinary range of experts from the legal profession and beyond. Their knowledge, passion and expertise are essential to the fulfilment of our public interest role, and none more so than the Tax Law Subcommittee. It has been pivotal in scrutinising plans for the taxes devolved in the last session and I’m really looking forward to what they have to say on the practicalities of the policies the parties are beginning to put forward.

Our priorities for the Scottish Parliament election 2016 feature five key policy areas we believe MSPs should act on following the Scottish elections. To read more, visit: www.lawscot.org.uk/priorities2016